In standard surgical practice and, specifically in minimally invasive surgical procedures, incisions are made in the skin, subcutaneous fat, fascia, and muscle tissue. Using standard surgical techniques, instruments are introduced through these defects to perform surgery. These defects must be closed, usually with sutures, at the conclusion of a procedure, to prevent herniation and other complications at these sites.
Prior art methods used to close tissue defects (or, alternatively, which may be used to close any hole where one has ready/direct access only to one side thereof) usually involve the use of curved needles. Some of the technologies require placing a suture through the skin, then grasping the suture extending freely in the air under camera guidance. This task can be extremely difficult even in experienced hands. An additional drawback of the existing techniques is the excessive cost of usually disposable, specialized guide devices for each procedure which is unacceptable to hospitals and surgery centers. While sometimes the aforementioned guides or other tools may be employed to aid in the use thereof, one must rely solely on feeling one's way through a cavity, and/or looking in a camera, while at the same time, risking injury to bowels, blood vessels, or other intra-abdominal organs. This may lead to sepsis, hemorrhage, and even death. The current methods are cumbersome and require a significant learning curve for a practitioner to become proficient in the techniques.
There exists a need for a method and device which is easy to use, has a shorter learning curve than current techniques, and which reduces risk of internal injury to the patient. Still further, a reduction in the cost of surgery and, of course, the expense of errors, is needed in the art.